Who was the first Man of the Match in a England-India one-dayer?
(18 January 2002)

Only the 12th one-day international to ever be played, the first tie of the 1974 Prudential Trophy at Headingley saw 11 Indians make their one-day debut in a 55-over-a-side match. England, relatively older hands at the new format of the game, won the toss and put their opponents in, hoping to capitalise on their inexperience and rip through the Indian batting line-up.

The visitors, however, defied such plans by adapting surprisingly well to the one-day arena. Skipper Ajit Wadekar hit 67 off 82 balls, with 10 fours, but the real boost came from Brijesh Patel lower down the order. Coming in at number six, Patel struck 82 off 78 balls, with eight fours and two sixes. India were bowled out for 265 in 53.5 overs, and the visitors must have gone into lunch a satisfied team.

The English, however, did not relent. Number three bat John Edrich struck a well-compiled 90 off 97 balls, anchoring a lineup that included illustrious names such as Keith Fletcher, Tony Greig and Dennis Amiss. Fletcher struck 39 and Greig a rapid-fire 40 off 28 balls. Fine bowling from Eknath Solkar and Bishan Singh Bedi did not prevent England winning the match by four wickets, reaching the total in only 51.1 overs.

Edrich was thus named Man of the Match in the very first one-day international between India and England. The only English batsman in the top seven who did not get to double figures was, ironically enough, captain Mike Denness. Poetic justice, some might say.

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